A Special Day

Today marks the first day of my 27th year, or in other words today is my birthday. The fact that today is my birthday means that I will hear (or have heard) from friends and family wishing me a happy day, receive a few presents, go out to eat for dinner, and take a few moments to reflect on the prior 26 years of my life (being that today is a Monday this list does not contain get drunk as something that will happen, however it should be noted that I did get drunk on Saturday for any who are curious).

Even though today is only the first day of my 27th year, the year itself brings with it a lot of expectations. Many people throughout the history of the world have accomplished amazing things in their 27th year (so far I’ve only managed to get coffee, update my car insurance, write for a few hours and watch some television…granted the year is not yet a day old).

For example:

At age 27

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. quit his job at General Electric to become a full-time writer.

Henry David Thoreau went off for two years to live alone in a cabin at Walden Pond.

Ernest Hemingway published his first novel, The Sun Also Rises.

Boston dentist William Morton pioneered modern anesthesiology after learning that inhalation of ether will cause a loss of consciousness.

and

Conceptual artist Piero Manzoni crapped in 90 small cans, which were then factory sealed and offered for sale at the price of gold.

This last one I find to be particularly impressive (for those who are interested in learning more about Piero Manzoni and his art visit www.pieromanzoni.org).

Seeing what these people have done in their 27th year, and knowing what others have done even before reaching the age of 27 (e.g. Orson Welles made Citizen Kane at 25, Joseph Smith founded the Mormon Church also at 25, and Napoloen conquered Italy at 26), has led me to think about what I have accomplished so far in my time on Earth. After thinking about it for the majority of the day here are the top ten things I came up with.

List Of The Top Ten Things I Have Accomplished By Day 1 of Year 27 (In No Particular Order):

1. Never killed anyone (though some might argue that this is not anything special, I think it is important to note and I do consider this an accomplishment, although I should also note that I consider the fact that Billy The Kid was charged with 12 murders by the age of 18 an accomplishment…you decide which is more impressive).

2. Received MFA in film production (getting my BA was an accomplishment also, just not as big…if this list went past 10 it would probably have made it…I do not, however, consider graduating from high school to be anything special).

3. Wrote and Directed an award winning short film.

4. Swam and won a medal in an international swim meet in Caracas, Venezuela (I was 10 at the time, but it still holds up).

5. Never (that I know of) impregnated anyone (again some might question the inclusion of this on the list, however, given that if I were married and had a child people would consider that an accomplishment, I felt it deserving enough to mention that I have not, which has so far been my intention, gotten anyone pregnant yet.

6. Drove cross country - twice (well, actually three times if you count it as drove from NJ to CA and back and then from FL to CA)

7. Got into and subsequently dropped out of law school (I’m actually more proud of the dropping out part).

8. Broke 200 for one game of bowling (it was 212 to be precise…I was on fire that night my next best score is a 187 neither of which I have approached in the last few years).

9. Started and maintained this blog (you see why the expectations are building for me to accomplish something else in the near future…though I’m proud to say that this blog since its inception has done the following things: helped combat morning sickness, helped alleviate boredom at work, provided motivation for several people from my past to get back in touch with me, given me something to do on a daily basis, and been the source of entertainment for at least 4 confirmed people).

10. Managed to make it to 27 and be relatively healthy with all my parts still intact (through several near death experiences, a few years of, at times, questionable choices, and the overall fragile nature of life itself, this has been far from a certainty).

So, there you have it…the highlights of my life…now, for all you history buffs, here are some other things of note that have happened on this day in history:

1570 - Earl of Moray, regent of Scotland, assassinated; civil war breaks out
1663 - King Louis XIV affirms covenant with Rÿnstaten
1849 - Patent granted for an envelope-making machine
1983 - The A-Team premieres
1984 - Hulk Hogan beat the Iron Sheik to become WWF champ

and here is a picture of one of Piero Manzoni’s shit cans…enjoy